1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to cooking apparatus, and more particularly to a portable universal cooking grill which is inexpensive, lightweight and can quickly and easily be folded into an extremely compact unit for carrying and storing and can be quickly and easily unfolded and set up for preparation of any kind of food by use of charcoal, gas, electric heat, wood or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous prior art devices have been proposed for cooking, baking, broiling and/or barbecuing outdoors. Typical such devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,419,674; 2,842,044; 3,101,080; 3,330,204; 3,800,777; 4,106,473; 4,208,959; 4,627,410; 4,800,865; and 4,889,972. Such devices are normally designed to use only one type of fuel. Additionally most of such units are bulky and difficult or impossible to transport. While such units are usually adequate for use around the home they are not practical for use at a beach, a park or the like. Conventional units of this type are not designed to be collapsed and, therefore, they likewise occupy too much space when stored or shipped. Furthermore, most outdoor cooking devices are not universal and can only be used to prepare food in one way (e.g. grilling). They are not capable of cooking liquid foods, such as soup or chili. Most of the known devices are heavy, and complicated in construction and expensive to manufacture, and frequently use complicated regulators for adjusting or shifting the heights of a grill--using numerous components which often fail. A height adjustment regulator in a portable grilling device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,177 which, however, has similar disadvantages and limitations above set forth.
Devices intended to be portable are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,827,846 and 3,641,922. The cooking grills disclosed in these patents are intended to be used over an open fire and cannot be collapsed after use but must disassembled into a number of different parts which are themselves bulky and may be misplaced to render the grill useless the next time that it has to be used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,637, a portable barbecue is described which includes a wire grid or grill to which is pivotally connected end leg members carrying resilient end plates adapted to interlock with the grill to secure the legs in an erect position. End plates serve as windbreaks and support the fire pan at selected heights from the grill. However, the unit does not provide windbreaks from the front or rear of the unit nor does it provide for any method of cooking other than grilling. Also, while the unit collapses, the legs are bent to accommodate the bulky fire pan, which sets a minimum dimension for the collapsed unit. Also, the grill and griddle plate which can be placed over the grill are fixed in height and the only way to change their distance from the fire pan is to manually handle the fire pan and move it to different ledges on the end plates. However, since the end plates depend for their stability on the movable legs a potentially dangerous condition can be created if the fire pan and the coals thereon become dislodged.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,096, a portable cooker is disclosed which includes a fire pan, a cover and system of end and side plates in addition to the grill. All these parts separate and can be assembled for use by means of fasteners. Not only can parts be misplaced or lost but the fire pan and cover occupy a considerable amount of space and cannot be collapsed. These components, therefore, likewise limit the compactness of the unit for storage or shipment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,158, a portable barbecue is described which is intended to facilitate assembly and disassembly. The patent contains a discussion of prior art portable barbecues and their deficiencies. The unit of this patent, however, like most prior portable units, includes a deep pan, in this case a drip pan, which limits the compactness of the collapsed unit. Also, the unit is intended to be used directly over a ground campfire and does, not as such, include a fire pan or grate. This significantly limits its flexibility or versatility and, therefore, its usefulness. The same is true of the cooking device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,496 which, while it is relatively simple in construction does not have the universality of the device contemplated herein, and merely serves as a single level spacer for a food support above an open fire.